Me, my scribbles and my ego

How to start your own country

If you get a chance you should create your own country, just for the sake of it. It’s always nice to have own a country and a football team. And who will run it ? Don’t worry ! You can always blackmail rest of the world threatening to implode your own country, they will pay.

Last week Kashmiris mindlessly marched again calling for azadi. It was as if the arithmetic of economics didn’t apply to Kashmir. As if someone will always pick up their bills.

In October 2002, India Today computed that in 12 years between 1990 and 2002, Jammu and Kashmir got Rs 35,571 crore in grants assistance. I revisited the numbers. Grants from the Centre doubled to touch Rs 38,156 crore in five years between 2003 and 2008. The extent of pampering is revealing.

In 2007-08 the state contributed a princely sum of Rs 533 crore as direct taxes to the Centre and received Rs 1,471 crore from the Central tax kitty and Rs 8,962 crore in grants. Its own revenue of Rs 2,299 crore will not cover the salary bill of Rs 4,389 crore.

Even without Jammu and Ladakh, azadi unsustainable. To sum up, of Rs 16,267 crore spent last year, two-thirds or 65 paise out of every rupee came from the Centre. This year the state will spend Rs 17,354 crore of which Rs 11,510 crore or Rs 11,510 per person will come from the Centre.

Compare this with the Rs 700 per capita that Uttar Pradesh gets. Worse, Uttar Pradesh will return 70 per cent of the grant while Jammu & Kashmir only 10 per cent.

So, don’t worry about money, someone will always pay for your bills and you still can march against them. So, if you are seriously thinking about creating one, here is step by step procedure :